Henry woke up with a start to the Arendelle town clock chiming eight. It was a perfect day outside, and despite the efforts of Frederick's friends the night before, Henry had managed to limit himself, so he was feeling almost as good as the day's weather. James had been in the room earlier, and everything was hung out for his wedding already. There was a tap at the door, and James stepped in.

"Good morning," Henry said.

"I'm glad to see you up," James replied.

"I don't want to sleep in, not too much, anyway. Do I need to get dressed yet?" Henry asked.

"Not yet, don't worry. You shouldn't wear the uniform to breakfast, of course. I would recommend this outfit for this morning."

"That looks good to me," Henry said. "Is everything else in order?"

"Yes, I believe so. If you are feeling superstitious, the princess had her breakfast delivered, and I believe she will be in her room until it is time to go to the wedding, so you won't see her in the corridors."

Henry nodded. Part of him wanted the wedding to be done with, so that he could spend time alone with Inga without hiding, but he knew the ceremony and festivities mattered. He dressed in the clothes that James had laid out for the morning, and made his way to the breakfast room.

Hilde was sitting alone in the room.

"Good morning!" she smiled. "I really haven't gotten to speak to you since I got here."

"I suppose that's true," he said. He realized he had, perhaps, been avoiding her a bit.

"So, you're getting married today," she said, stating the obvious.

"Yes," Henry nodded, tapping on the table superstitiously. "I hope nothing goes wrong."

Hilde raised an eyebrow. "Well, you kind of took care of that already."

Henry grumbled. "If you were anyone else…"

"I know, it was a low blow. Really, though… Don't worry about it. The timing is a little questionable, and I'm sure some of the newspapers will comment, but you'll be married now, so everything is beyond reproach. It's not like they're scrambling to cover up a scandal to keep the princess marriageable."

"What?" Henry asked, setting down his coffee.

"I'm just saying, you know very well if you had disappeared on her, she would be in a pretty pickle."

Henry went back to silently drinking his coffee. He was fairly certain that Hilde didn't know anything about Inga's mother, or she would have had better sense than to say something like that.

"I guess my father shared the conversation we had?" Henry sighed.

"No, the only time Father and I exchanged more than pleasantries since we got here I believe he hadn't yet talked to you. I take it you two have now?"

"I'd rather not think about it."

"That bad, huh?" Hilde drummed her fingers. "Well, look, I'm sorry I said anything."

Henry nodded, lost in his thoughts. His father had been, perhaps, too understanding of the situation. He didn't want to think too hard about that.

"You're going to talk to me, aren't you, Henry?"

Henry sighed. "Did you know that the reporter for that newspaper came on the ship with you?"

"Holst? Ugh, yes. I mean, I didn't know when we were on the ship, since he kept out of our way, but I saw him when Inga was showing me around the town."

"Have you told him anything?"

"How many times have I told you, all I ever talk about to him is fashion."

"That's it?" Henry prodded.

"Yes, I promise you."

"It's just, sometimes, his stories seem to be rather close to the truth."

"And how often do you pay no attention to who is around when you're having conversations?"

Henry looked away. He realized that at the party the summer before, there had been rumors thanks to his carelessness.

"But, really," Hilde continued, "it seems like he prefers making things up. Do you know the stories his mother made up?"

"What do you mean? Henry asked. "I don't think I heard about those."

Hilde looked over her shoulder, and quickly got up to latch the door. "Father warned me about Holst once. I was starting to answer some more probing questions from Holst, and Father pulled me aside and told me some things about him. This was a few years ago, but Mrs. Holst had tried to claim that Father was actually Ludvig's father."
"What, our father?" Henry asked.

"Father swears he didn't even know her mother before then, and he'd never do it, but it seems she was very jealous of Mrs. Nilsen, of all people, and Mrs. Holst tried to imply that something similar should happen with her son, just because they had both been in Arendelle around the same time."

"Mrs. Nilsen?" Henry asked. "Mrs. Holst thought that… Lars…?"

"Lars and Karl's mother, of course," Hilde said. "I mean, I think before you and I came along there were comments about how much attention they got from our parents, and that maybe they were going to be adopted as heirs. And maybe they would have been, but of course rumors being what they are there were people whispering that the late Mr. Nilsen didn't really exist."

"Really?" Henry looked up, somehow never having thought of that before.

"Our parents were married for six years before we were born. You know people were starting to talk."

"I suppose so." Henry realized he shouldn't mention what he knew about Lars now.

"You won't have that problem, at least," Hilde commented.

Henry rolled his eyes. "I'll miss these conversations," he said dryly.

"We can still have breakfast. She'll be welcome, as well, if she feels up to it, but I imagine she's going to need some rest."

"Is… is that supposed to be some sort of innuendo?" Henry asked.

"Do you want it to be innuendo?"

"I shouldn't answer that, should I?" Henry glared.

"I was just trying to say, Inga is going to need a lot of rest, from what you've told me. I just meant it like that."

"Oh, I see," Henry said, feeling a little flushed. "Well, I suppose we should both get ready now."

"Indeed," Hilde laughed.


Inga sat at her mirror, brushing her hair. She had just taken a bath, and her maid Oline was draining the bathtub.

"Inga?" she heard her mother's voice from the door to the hallway simultaneously with a light knock.

"Come in, Mother," Inga called out. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Inga. Can I help with anything?" her mother asked as she walked over. She was already dressed in her most formal ceremonial gown. Inga could sense some tightness in her voice, like she was holding back being emotional. She supposed this was justified.

"I would like it if you could do my hair," Inga said, then lowering her voice to a whisper, "Oline is quite good, don't get me wrong, but it's just not the same."

Her mother smiled, then sat down beside her, taking the hair brush.

As her mother began gently but deliberately brushing through her hair, Inga felt like there was unspoken conversation waiting to happen.

"Mother…" Inga began, suddenly feeling like she might cry herself.

"Yes?" her mother replied, still focusing on her hair.

"I… I'm sorry I've been such a disappointment."

The brush stopped. "Inga… please, please don't say that. Please don't think that."

"But it's true," Inga said, meeting her mother's eyes in the mirror.

"No," her mother said, beginning to brush again. "Yes, some things were… disappointing. But that… that's not the same. And, I'm not really in a position to judge."

"But I should have known better," Inga said.

"Let's not worry about that now," her mother insisted.

"Still, I'm sorry I got into- I'm sorry I was in such a state at the dress fitting."

"We've already talked about that. You've hardly had any time to get used to any of this. It's a lot."

Inga nodded, beginning to cry. Her mother reached over and handed her a handkerchief.

Oline walked out of the bathroom. "Oh! Your Majesty, excuse me! I didn't realize you were here!"

"It's fine, Oline," her mother said. "Is Inga's dress ready to go?"

"It's hanging in the corner. I'll make sure everything is in order."

Inga watched in the mirror as her mother brushed and put her hair into neat braids, before combining them into a pleasing style. Then she picked out some ribbons that matched the trim on Inga's dress, beginning to wrap them around. Inga smiled at how nice it looked.

"Are you ready to get the dress on now, Your Highness?" Oline asked.

"Yes, I think so, thank you, Oline," Inga said, slowly standing up. Her mother stood up and grasped her hands.

"It's going to be a good day," she told Inga, kissing her on the cheek.

Inga nodded.

The dress fit perfectly, much to Inga's surprise, and while she hadn't been paying particular attention when they were talking to the dressmaker, the style worked wonders for her. The corset wasn't even tied very tightly. Though she hadn't expressed the thought to anyone, Inga had been certain that it would be obvious that her waistline had already expanded just a bit. It seemed obvious to her, but nobody else seemed to have noticed. She hoped it would remain that way.

There was another knock on the door, and Oline went to answer.

"Your Majesty," she said, "the flowers are here."

"Oh, wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Please have them brought in."

Oline returned to the room with an armful of flowers.

"Where did you find those?" Inga gasped, fairly certain most of them weren't in season.

"Dagmar has some extensive greenhouses," her mother explained, "and she was more than happy to provide some extra flowers. Chrysanthemums are nice, but we should have some other flowers, as well."

Oline whispered something that Inga couldn't quite hear.

"Oh, perfect!" her mother exclaimed. "Inga, do you mind?"

"Mind what?" Inga asked.

"For your hair?" her mother explained.

"That does look lovely, thank you," Inga replied.

"I had been planning-" her mother stopped herself.

"Planning what?" Inga asked.

"Well, that's why I wanted the summer flowers. Autumn flowers work well enough for a bouquet, but not for your hair."

She and Oline began weaving the flowers into Inga's hair.

Once Inga's hair was finished, Oline excused herself from the room.

"Now that we're alone," her mother said, "is there anything you want to ask me? Or anything you want to talk about?"

Inga shook her head silently. "I don't suppose so. I don't suppose much can happen now, anyway."

Her mother was looking over her shoulder in the mirror, and raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you want me to say too much in detail, but you shouldn't need to be overly cautious."

"What do you mean by that?" Inga asked.

Her mother stood up and walked over to the window. "I'm just saying, you should enjoy your honeymoon. If you want I could go into more detail."

Inga realized now what her mother was implying. "No, thank you, I think I understand. And, yes, thank you. Is it time to go to the cathedral now?"

There was a knock at the door, and Inga stood up. Her mother opened the door slightly and looked out.

"Inga, do you mind if Kate and Edith come in?" she asked.

"Of course they can come in," Inga replied, sitting back down, but turning to look.

The girls came in, both dressed in new finery, with their hair even more carefully arranged than usual.

"Oh, Inga!" Kate exclaimed. "You look lovely!"

Edith came up behind her sister, looking at Inga in the mirror. "Your hair is so beautiful, too!"

"Thank you," Inga said. "Is it time now?"

"Almost," Edith said. "Nearly everyone is there except us, I think."

"Everyone who matters is there, for sure," Kate giggled.

Inga assumed she was referring to Henry, and as much as she had no doubts about him, she still felt some relief.

"I believe your father is waiting downstairs," Anna said, heading out the door. "Inga, you don't need to rush, but everyone will be waiting for you."


Henry had changed into the uniform James had brought with them. He had only worn it a handful of times, all for very formal situations, and it was what he had changed into after the coronation ceremony the year before, when he had first danced with Inga.

On the cathedral steps, he saw Inga's younger sisters Sofia and Marie playing, and Frederick and the twins standing outside the door talking. Frederick was in a formal naval uniform, while his brothers had more standard suits on.

"Oh, good, you're here!" Frederick called out.

"I'm not late, am I?" Henry asked, looking to see if there was a clock nearby.

"No, we just need to send for Inga once you're here, that's all."

"Should I go inside, then?" Henry asked.

"We'll come with you," Frederick said. "The girls can wait for Inga out here."

The crowd had already gathered. Henry was amazed at how every seat in the cathedral was filled, despite the last-minute scheduling of the wedding. He did his best to hide behind the door, trying to see if he recognized anyone besides the ambassadors. He heard some fussing back in the vestibule, and saw the nanny taking Inga's youngest sister from her mother.

Only then did Henry notice his parents and grandparents standing next to him, and they were very pleased to see Henry so well dressed. Hilde was standing to the side, having been asked to be an additional bridesmaid for Inga.

Kate and Edith ran in excitedly, and whispered something to Hilde, at which point she exited with them. The bishop then walked in along with Kai, the steward, who directed Henry's grandparents to their seats; his parents soon followed, and finally Inga's mother was seated. The bishop then directed Henry and Inga's brothers to follow him. Henry kept his eyes on the back of the bishop's robes, afraid to look anywhere else, knowing full well that, for the moment, all eyes were on him. He finally made it to the front, and saw his sister approaching, along with the bridesmaids and Inga's sisters Sofia and Marie, who were begrudgingly leading their youngest brother, Karl, holding a pillow with the ring.

All of the wedding party was in place, and Henry took a deep breath, his eyes now glued to the church door.


Inga took a deep breath. The dress was lovely, and her hair was done up perfectly. She had been hiding away all morning getting ready, and now it was time to go to the cathedral for the ceremony. Her sisters were watching eagerly from the steps, and Kate and Edither were peeking out from the doors. Her father was standing just inside, and she wasn't sure if he was just uncomfortable from his suit, or if he was, perhaps, as nervous as she was.

"Are you ready?" he asked her quietly.

"Yes," she said softly.

"You're sure?"

"Of course," she insisted.

"I just needed to know that," he said, offering her his arm.

The doors opened, and the choir began to sing. Kate and Edith entered the chapel, followed by Hilde, then Sofia and Marie with Karl.

"How did you get him to behave?" Inga whispered to her father.

"Chocolate, lots of chocolate," he smirked.

The music changed, and it was time for them to enter. Henry was standing at the front, staring at her. She knew everyone was probably looking at her, but if she watched him she could pretend he was the only one watching.

They reached the front, and her father gave her a kiss on the forehead before sitting down next to her mother.

The readings by the bishop were unremarkable, surely because he wanted to avoid anything that might raise eyebrows. She was never sure if she should be looking at Henry or at the bishop or somewhere else, but when it was time for the vows, she managed to repeat the words without mistake or hesitation, and Henry did likewise. She was looking towards the pews, and noticed some people whispering, probably that they expected the foreign prince to sound more foreign than he did. Soon after they exchanged rings, they exited together to cheers from the crowd.

They were married now.


Once most of the people had left the cathedral, the families were lined up for various photographs before the daylight faded too much. Inga was thankful that they took the photo with everyone from both families first, because her younger siblings were not going to stay still for very long. Even the photo of the wedding party took some work with Kate and Edith wanting to talk to each other and Sofia and Marie getting distracted.

"Henry?" Hilde asked as another arrangement of people was being discussed.

Henry had been distracted, looking at Inga.

"Where do we go now?" he asked.

Hilde laughed.

"Don't worry, they're just taking a picture of our parents now, so they won't need you for a few more minutes," she said. "But I was wondering, are we going to get a painting of this from you?"

Inga looked at him expectantly.

"I think I could, once we return to Corona."

"Which photograph do you think you'll use?" Hilde asked.

"I suppose if they'll let me see all of them, I'd use all of them. Not everyone looks good at the same time in a photograph."

Inga suppressed a laugh, looking at her father attempting to look dignified in one of the photos.

Now it was time for Henry's family alone, so the children dispersed. With Henry and Hilde being the youngest, and Henry's grandparents being accustomed to formal portraits, things went much more smoothly. Kate and Edith came over, and Inga was actually glad for their company.

"I would never have guessed that was Henry's grandmother," Kate whispered.

"What do you mean?" Inga asked.

"She hardly looks much older than his mother," she replied. "Edith and I were talking about this the other night. Remember?"

"Oh, right," the older sister agreed, leaning over to whisper to Inga. "General Mattias said that Queen Arianna hasn't changed, but after we got home, Meibel heard him say that he wasn't just flattering her. She and her husband aren't all that different in age, but he looks so much older."

Inga looked around to make sure no one else was nearby. "I thought they no longer had, well, that sort of magic."

"Did you notice anything when you were there last year?" Kate asked.

"I can't say I did," Inga replied. "But I admit I never thought about the Queen's age."

The photos were finished, and Henry was heading over.

"Well, I expect to hear from you after you move," Edith said.

"I'll do my best to write," Inga promised.


After the photographer was satisfied with having enough photographs to ensure that no important family would feel slighted, they stopped in the library to sign final papers in front of witnesses from the royal council as well as Henry's family.

The band started playing as Inga and Henry stood outside the door, watching Kai announce their family members entertaining the room. Despite relatively few people being invited to the wedding, the ballroom felt very full with all the guests who had shown up.

"We're next," Henry whispered. "Are you ready?"

"Not really," Inga admitted.

"I've got you," Henry said, kissing her and pressing on her arm, and she felt like he could hold her up.

"Thanks," she whispered, just before Kai announced them.

Inga hardly heard the chatting as they walked to the head table. She wasn't sure how much she wanted to eat, but she would do her best not to draw attention.

The dancing was a blur, as were all the people who came up to congratulate them. The hours flew by, and soon, there was chatter from some of the older nobility that it was time for everyone to go upstairs. Over the past few months, she had heard some of the council talking about the old days when a royal wedding involved a bedding ceremony, though no one could quite remember when the last time such a thing happened. She had dismissed it, but she wondered if her mother had been clear about shutting down such talk.

"I've been dreading this," Inga said softly, leaning over close to Henry's ear.

"Why?" he said, looking worried.

"Do you see those people over there?"

"Yes, what about them?"

"They-" Inga saw them coming over. She looked around for someone from her family, and realized that her parents were on the other end of the ballroom. Her mother walked over as soon as she saw Inga's face.

"Mother, are they talking about what I think they're talking about?" Inga asked as her mother got over to them.

"I'll check," she said. There was some discussion, and Inga could hear her mother's voice rise at one point, and her father joined her. Soon everyone seemed to have come to an agreement.

Her mother came back over to them.

"They want to lead you up to the wedding chamber."

"Wedding chamber?" Inga asked.

Her mother shook her head. "It's one of the guest rooms. I didn't realize they were doing this, but they're only leading you up there, and then you'll be left alone."

"Alone?" Inga repeated.

"Yes, we'll make sure of that, I promise." Her mother sighed, glancing up at her father. "I'm sorry, I didn't think they were serious when they were talking about that during some of the meetings, or else I would have said something. As it is, well-"

"Your Majesty!" one of the nobles called out, approaching them.

"Your Grace," her mother replied, barely hiding being annoyed with the man.

The man smiled. "I am so happy that we will be keeping everything in this ceremony proper and legitimate."

Inga couldn't help but notice the choice of words.

"Yes, of course, Your Grace." She glanced over at Henry's family, who began walking over.

"What are we doing now?" Henry's grandfather asked.

"Your Majesty!" The noble who had been speaking earlier gave a bow to the king.

Inga's mother stepped forward and cleared her throat, then looked pointedly at Henry's mother. "Members of the Arendelle Royal Council, who have been so generous to expedite these festivities, wish to reinstate an older custom to finish off the evening. His Grace is particularly enthusiastic over maintaining the tradition."

"I see," Henry's mother said. "I'm not familiar with this, Your Grace, would you please tell me about it?"

The noble explained the tradition to Henry's family, and Henry's grandparents seemed to have heard of such things before.

Several more nobles gathered around Inga and Henry, leading them up to a special guest bedroom, which had been designated as the wedding suite.

Their families had followed them, and were standing and watching, though thankfully all of them seemed to find this as awkward as she and Henry did. Inga noticed her father standing by the older nobles who had been entirely too enthusiastic about reviving the old ceremony, lest they insist on remaining in the room.

They were led to the bed, and a young noblewoman whom Inga couldn't remember seeing before giggled as she pulled back the covers, and they were made to get in. The one consolation was that there had been no public ceremony of undressing or changing clothes.

"Now we'll leave you two!" the noblewoman giggled, and everyone exited the room, closing the door, but their voices could still be heard from the other side.


Inga and Henry sat on the bed, staring at the door that had just been shut, silently holding hands.

"Are they just going to stand out there?" Henry asked.

"They might," Inga said.

They were silent some more, trying to hear anything coming from the hallway.

Henry looked at Inga, touching her face, and kissed her. "We can be quiet," he said.

Inga smirked. "They'll be wanting a show, you know."

"Do you want to provide them with a show?" Henry asked.

"Honestly, no," Inga replied, kissing back. "Perhaps…"

She undid the top button at the back of her dress.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Oh, hey, guys!" Olaf said. "Everyone else was sent away, but Kristoff said something about the trolls and we were thinking we might travel over there if you like."

Inga looked over at Henry.

"Um, sure," he said.

"Great!" Olaf said. "Let's go!"